Godhead

"We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." (1st Article of Faith)

I do not believe in the concept of trinity. I believe in three unique and distinct beings who make up the Godhead.

"God", to me, is "Heavenly Father." He is the the creator of my spirit, the architect of the universe, the author behind the whole design. However, beyond spirit, I believe He has a glorified physical presence. I don't think His body is of the same material nature that ours are. But I do believe that He has arms, legs, a face, and some sort of internal functioning system. He is tangible. When the scriptures say that we are created in the image of God, I think it means that in a very real physical sense. I believe in a God I will one day hug. When my time on this earth is over the day will come when He will draw me up into His arms and welcome me home.

Jesus Christ is aligned with God in a bond that is incomprehensible to me....one in purpose, one in intention, one in Glory. But I believe that Christ is a specifically different being. Like Heavenly Father, Christ also has a physical body. It is the body His spirit was resurrected into after His mortal death on the cross. Again, what the exact nature of that physical presence is I have no clue. But it is real in terms of substance and matter.

The Holy Ghost is the third member of the sacred Godhead. He does not have a physical body. As a spirit being, He has the capacity to touch mortal hearts and minds in some very unique ways. His role is to serve as comforter, testifier of all truth, and a guide to help us to recognize when we are getting closer or further away from Heavenly Father's plan for us. I have no idea what "spirit" is made of or what it looks like. I imagine it as energy, love and light. But I don't know. He is no "ghost" even though that is part of the name we call Him. In my mind, the Holy Ghost is a being of infinite intelligence, compassion, and purpose who is united with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the grand design of bringing to pass the "immortality and eternal life of man."

I accept the reality of those three beings as absolutely true, even though my comprehension of them is so incredibly limited.

At different times throughout my life I have had very different views about who or what God was. I suspect that my understanding of God and my relationship to Him may continue to evolve as I mature in my Christianity.

Part of what I believe is shaped by the teachings of the scriptures. Part of it is guided by the words of men I accept as modern day prophets. Part of it comes from my own personal experiences and answers to my prayers.

The part that blows my mind is that God knows and cares about me. He's got a whole universe, maybe many universes, to be concerned about. Yet He knows my heart.

When I went to Egypt last fall I has some very special experiences as I was praying on Mt. Sinai that bore witness to my soul in an extremely powerful way that this was true. God knows and cares about me. He has a plan and a purpose for my life. I honestly can't say I fully understand what that purpose is. But I know that it is unfolding, and as I put my trust in Him I will come to understand more.